Follow My 'co-Enzyme A' Experiment

21 posts in this topic

I'm having pretty good results so far. I plan to keep updating every day so be sure to track my progress and feel free to join the experiment if you wish. This is basically a low-dose B5 experiment.

In the beginning, my skin was so inflamed and broken out that I could hardly go out in public. Now it's actually not that bad. I did have a severe cystic breakout on the right side of my face when I started, but since most of my acne is centered around my mouth and chin I decided to take each daily picture at the frontal angle. In order to avoid any kind of irritation, I'm not shaving for this experiment, and only using a trimmer to keep it down to a stubble. Maybe when my skin gets really good I'll go back to shaving.

Not using any topicals. Just rinse my face and let the water rinse my face in the shower. Occasionally I'll use some 5% BP spot treatment.

Keep it up! If in a few months you are consistently clear then i think you can officially say that you have found something that works for you

It's a rocky road but like everything else in life, there is always a beginning and an end. Here's to finding my end.

God is good to me..........more than I deserve.

James 1:2-4

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Your liver is doing serious work. What is the logic behind all of the supplements?

I don't consider myself an expert, but I've had cystic/surface acne for 17 years. There was a time when my entire face was literally covered in pimples. Seeing my own reflection under fluorescent light has always been... very heartbreaking.

I'm clear now and my skin texture is not too bad. I mention these things because I've been down this route of mega-dosing supplements. Not only did it make me feel terrible, it didn't work. There's too much going on.

I'm not sure about your experience with acne, but if you're going to use chemicals and artificial ingredients to heal your acne, you might as well jump on the DKR regimen. In looking at your skin, I believe it will cure you most of the way - I don't see any cysts.

You'll also benefit from a topical AHA cream. It will promote the shedding of dead skin cells, which can clog pores.

However, if you're like me, it will only cure 80-90% of the acne. You'll need to diet to find that magical clearing.

Few questions :

- Check behind your ears... is there swelling or fluid retention? Under the jawline?

- What has your diet been like for the past week? Can you make a list of your entire diet for the past 5 days? Don't exclude anything.

Your liver is doing serious work. What is the logic behind all of the supplements?

I don't consider myself an expert, but I've had cystic/surface acne for 17 years. There was a time when my entire face was literally covered in pimples. Seeing my own reflection under fluorescent light has always been... very heartbreaking.

I'm clear now and my skin texture is not too bad. I mention these things because I've been down this route of mega-dosing supplements. Not only did it make me feel terrible, it didn't work. There's too much going on.

I'm not sure about your experience with acne, but if you're going to use chemicals and artificial ingredients to heal your acne, you might as well jump on the DKR regimen. In looking at your skin, I believe it will cure you most of the way - I don't see any cysts.

You'll also benefit from a topical AHA cream. It will promote the shedding of dead skin cells, which can clog pores.

However, if you're like me, it will only cure 80-90% of the acne. You'll need to diet to find that magical clearing.

Few questions :

- Check behind your ears... is there swelling or fluid retention? Under the jawline?

- What has your diet been like for the past week? Can you make a list of your entire diet for the past 5 days? Don't exclude anything.

I don't know what you mean by chemicals and artificial ingredients, everything that I'm taking is either an herb, vitamin, or mineral. Spirulina, chlorella, reishi, and green tea extract are extremely beneficial for anybody's health. Chromium controls blood sugar levels, magnesium because it's basically nonexistent in today's food supply, vitamin D because I don't get alot of sun exposure, etc.

Sorry, but my opinion is that you are wrong about the DKR regimen. I'm glad it's working for you, but the regimen doesn't attack the cause of acne in the first place, which is lipid metabolism and overproduction. You're basically just masking the problem by (literally) slathering chemicals on the skin every day.

Pantothenic acid is a water soluble vitamin that I'm taking in low doses, it raises levels of co-enzyme-a which is responsible for many functions in the body, it's also relieved my stress and anxiety - it's harmless

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

is it possible there is a rosacea in there as well? I ask mainly because I notice that really pink patch right in the center of the chin, though maybe that's the flash messing with the colours.

but I agree with OP. I think the DKR regimen might irritate his type of acne. When I tried BP it actually worsened my redness and irritation and did not do much for the actual acne. (mind you, my issue is mainly comedonal)

OP have you tried any sulfur based topicals? I've found it to be quite 'gentle' as far as topicals go and it might compliment what you are doing internally. The only one I can seem to find in canada is Acnomel from walmart but in the US I know that 'de la cruz' sulfur ointment is popular.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

is it possible there is a rosacea in there as well? I ask mainly because I notice that really pink patch right in the center of the chin, though maybe that's the flash messing with the colours.

but I agree with OP. I think the DKR regimen might irritate his type of acne. When I tried BP it actually worsened my redness and irritation and did not do much for the actual acne. (mind you, my issue is mainly comedonal)

OP have you tried any sulfur based topicals? I've found it to be quite 'gentle' as far as topicals go and it might compliment what you are doing internally. The only one I can seem to find in canada is Acnomel from walmart but in the US I know that 'de la cruz' sulfur ointment is popular.

Do you mean sulfur soap or sulfur spot treatment? I have tried both - right now my belief is that it's best to just leave the skin alone.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

no, not soap. That would probably exacerbate redness and irritation if anything. The two I mentioned are just nightly leave on treatments. Acnomel is like a cream and I think the other one is more of a gel. I like the acnomel so far. It's quite gentle and rinses off completely with nothing but water in the morning, and seems to be helping my inflammatory breakouts to heal/un-swell/scab up a bit quicker than they normally do.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I don't know what you mean by chemicals and artificial ingredients, everything that I'm taking is either an herb, vitamin, or mineral. Spirulina, chlorella, reishi, and green tea extract are extremely beneficial for anybody's health.

The problem is not in the vitamins, minerals, or supplements. You need to understand that your body will react to these substances by trying to rid them from your bloodstream, and in order to do that, your liver is going to be doing extra work. Additionally, you may have problems actually absorbing these nutrients. Not everyone is capable of absorbing nutrients properly through their current diet - a change must be made as there is damage to their system. I'm not sure how old you are, but you need to repair the damage before overloading yourself with "micronutrients."

Speaking of which, food falls under 2 categories (of which you appear to be focusing on only one, when you can get both through actual real food) :

micronutrients - all these vitamins you're taking that can easily be absorbed through plant matter, which gives you the added benefit of dietary fiber.

macronutrients - carbs, proteins, fats.

I also found this interesting excerpt about spirulina :

Few side effects have been reported from spirulina including headache, muscle pain, flushing of the face, sweating, and difficulty concentrating. These have been described in people taking 1 g of Spirulina per os daily. Skin reactions and liver damage have also been reported (Iwasa et al. 2002). It is remarkable that the appropriate dosing of Spirulina has not been standardized for the various health problems; doses used in the few human studies that have been conducted varied from about 1 g per day to more than 5 g per day (Torres-Duran et al. 2007)

Blood sugar levels are naturally regulated by the body's homeostatic mechanism. Not sure of your size, but on average an adult male has 5 liters of blood, and less than 5 grams of sugar within the bloodstream at all times. This small factoid profoundly changed the way I eat.

Chromium, while it may be beneficial, is not a magic serum in controlling blood sugar. This is typically done through diet, and carbohydrate restriction.

You might also have inflammation - not just in the face, but likely in your blood vessels. Try an anti-inflammatory diet. Avoid wheat and dairy for a bit and see where that takes you. Inflammation is caused by eating inflammatory foods and processed unsaturated fats.

If you're consuming a good deal of grain, your body will be robbed of many nutrients.

Magnesium is very important, but you can get this, also, through green vegetables.

Have you ever looked into a ketogenic diet?

Sorry, but my opinion is that you are wrong about the DKR regimen. I'm glad it's working for you, but the regimen doesn't attack the cause of acne in the first place, which is lipid metabolism and overproduction. You're basically just masking the problem by (literally) slathering chemicals on the skin every day.

I too agree that the DKR regimen is not a good solution. It worked for me in the past, but has since stopped working. I found my solution through diet.

Pantothenic acid is a water soluble vitamin that I'm taking in low doses, it raises levels of co-enzyme-a which is responsible for many functions in the body, it's also relieved my stress and anxiety - it's harmless

I'm glad you have found pantothenic acid, but it's not a good idea to mega-dose on it. Consider the extra strain on your liver. I say this with utmost honesty that I've been down this route before.

Pantothenic acid is naturally available in these incredible foods :

- Avocados

- Kale

- Fish

- Egg yolk

There's tons of nutrients and dietary fiber in kale.

It confuses me that people would rather stick to eating whatever they please, and add the imposed load of supplements on the side. If you really want to put your body in check, it's going to be about diet.

Diet will help you :

1. regulate blood sugar by controlling carb intake.

2. get your micronutrients and macronutrients

3. reduce inflammation.

4. restrict and control calorie intake

Starting from a baseline diet of simple foods rich in micronutrients and macronutrients will most definitely help improve, if not cure your acne. Give it a shot for 2 weeks - what do you have to lose? Then, re-introduce foods that contain wheat or dairy every other day and find your triggers.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Spirulina and chlorella are probably some of the healthiest foods on the planet, they are considered superfoods. They've been around since the beginning of time. NASA feeds astronauts spirulina because of the sheer nutritional value, and they're even considering growing it on the ISS in the near future.

Spirulina and chlorella powder go straight into the green smoothies that I make each morning and evening. Every day I eat kale, spinach, red bell pepper, cucumber, broccoli, strawberries, carrots, and tomatoes. My healthy fats come from salmon, extra virgin olive oil, and fish oil capsules.

My liver is fine. I haven't had a single drop of alcohol in my entire life and water is the only thing I drink.. 1 gram of B5 twice a day is not hurting me, nor is that considered megadosing.

I haven't touched dairy or wheat for the past year, even though I've already paid lots of $$ to have my gluten and cow's milk intolerances checked with normal results. My diet is probably the most anti-inflammatory diet you can think of. 90% of my sugar comes from fruit, sometimes I'll eat a graham cracker or two.

I can tell you from experience, eating a perfect diet has not, will not, and cannot fix my skin . If you look on my blog at day #1's picture, that was one of the more intense but consistent breakouts that occurred even while eating a perfect anti-inflammatory diet. I believe it was a result of eating flax seed but I can't tell for sure.

If I can go from absolutely miserable to almost perfect skin within 2 weeks supplementing low dose B-5, there is obviously a connection between the two. I've documented it. It's proof. There are no negative side effects, and no harm comes from water soluble vitamins.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I don't believe you can test for the acne-gluten connection. It's too subtle. My body can actually handle a fair amount of gluten or wheat, but what will happen is I will retain water and deep acne will begin forming over time.

Are you still updating your blog? Just curious to see the results from the past 2 days.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I just wanted to give a quick update and say I'm still having success with this. Right now I have zero active inflamed acne on my face, but some on my shoulders.

I have also found that drinking a glass of lemon water when waking up and when going to bed has dramatically helped with inflammation. I believe lemon's alkalizing properties are doing great things for me.

1 person likes this

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I am starting on the Panthothenic Acid regime tonight. I have been seeing a Naturopath for the past year and after trying an array of different treatments, this is my last option. In the past ten years I have done Laser treatments; V-Beam, Blue-Light, and another laser I cannot remember. I have tried all the cycline antibiotics, and I did have success with amoxcillin, it was my go-to for a long time (it was the only thing that worked until i became immune to the drug, so I am not planning on trying it again). Today I woke up with two nickel-sized cysts on my chin, and after begging to my dermatologists office, I snuck an appointment slot and will be two getting cortisone shots this afternoon! This is the only way I can get rid of cysts. But I hope by trying out this Panthothenic Acid treatment, it will work wonders like it has for so many http://www.drdach.com/Acne_B5.html I plan on taking 8 grams a day for the first 2 weeks, and cut down to 6 grams. I leave for Hawaii in one week and I am keeping in good thoughts that this will help all the while maintaing good hygiene with my make up brushes, towels, sheets, etc.

@Crashoran, thank you for your post and blog of pictures, it is truly inspiring and I hope I can get just as good results! It will be interesting to see if a woman, like myself, can achieve such good results. I have exactly one week, so here goes my experiment.

Cheers.

"Live a good honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time." - Dalai Lama

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Crash, you need to bump up the L-cysteine. The National Academy of Science recommends 700mg of cysteine for a 19yr old+ male who isn't on any b5. I would add another 1/2 gram of L-cysteine to protect your hair. Also on the day you are getting stressed at work why not pop another gram of B5?